Do You Really Need Digital Marketing?

29 May Do You Really Need Digital Marketing?

Coming from someone who works in digital, this question may seem an odd one. However, with everyone planning their digital campaigns, a question needs to be raised – who is left to do the offline ads?

As a business owner, you will want to explore every avenue. And while I can throw some serious statistic around, claiming that digital marketing drives better ROI than offline ads ever could – and even if that is true – you still need to analyze your target market first, and make decisions later.

What if your audience simply doesn’t like to be sold to online? Is there another way to reach them, without spending tons on digital campaigns that don’t work?

Of course there is.

The Death of Offline Marketing

And while many have claimed that there is no longer any point in advertising offline, this is obviously a very wrong perspective to adopt.

Depending on the industry you work in, people might be much more ready for an offline form of marketing – be it a business card, a flyer or a banner – than a click here type of sales pitch.

When you invest in an offline item – you can choose to distribute it any way you want to. Have the abovementioned business cards made and use them at trade shows and networking events. Talk to Printroom who can make you any type of banner or board, and have them spaced around your premises. Organize a charity event in your local community and make sure your brand is clearly identifiable.

Interacting with people in the real world can have some unexpected benefits too. You never know why someone chooses to abandon their cart or leave your website. Maybe they need a question answered, and you never even thought they might be asking it. In person, it is much easier to explain what your band stands for, and why your service or product is better than the competitions’.

Forgoing Digital?

While you may now be thinking that you should completely abandon your digital strategies, and focus on the real world, that is not quite what I had in mind.

Even if you don’t make your first contact with a customer online, and even if you don’t have an online store, you still need to have a website. People need to be able to find you, if they want to be reminded of what you offer, and how they can get in touch. Also, we all seem to expect a brand to have a website, so not having one is not a mistake you want to make.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to keep your brand consistent across all channels. Don’t let customers be confused by your online presentation – you still need to be spreading the same message, using the same colors and branding, and trying to speak to the same people.

The Death of Digital

The one thing no one ever tells you about digital marketing, especially if they are trying to sell you a service – is that with any kind of competition, getting to the top of the search results page not only takes time, but can be a pretty insane effort, and it also may not even pay off.

With thousands of companies and the agencies they hire aiming for the same three spots in search – you simply can’t always compete. It is true that every online asset you have will always bring you in some sort of value. But still, you need to have a well thought out campaign for it to work.

With offline marketing, you need to adopt a different approach – and you can often reach a wider audience. The trick with both is to find the people who actually need your services, and sell to them.

And the best way to do that is with a synergy of online and offline tactics.